Some recent experiences have made me want to keep a first aid kit in my bag, though a lot of the ones on the market where I live are oversized ouchie boo-boo kits.I want it to be small, compact and usable for someone who’s at best attended a basic first aid course + watched some YouTube videos, so basically a slightly learned layman.
My current list of items is:
1x small tube of antibacterial cream
1x small tube of sudocrem
3x tablets each of antihistamines (Telfast, Zyrtec, phenergan)
1x alcohol spray (pen sized bottle)
3x tablets each of pain medication (paracetamol, ibuprofen)
3x individually packaged Hydralite
3x each of varying bandaid sizes (small, medium, large)
4x small antiseptic wipes
2x compression stocking
3x non-stick dressing
1x roll of medical tape
1x roll of cohesive bandage
1x Israeli bandage
1x space blanket
1x medical gloves
1x pair of scissors (maybe trauma shears if they’ll fit)
1x keyring flashlight (as small/thin as I can manage)
1x notepad+pen
I’m hoping to make this cover a reasonably wide breadth of situations in an urban setting of varying scale and severity while keeping size and weight inconsequential. I want to keep it in either a tablet-sized heavy duty ziplock bag, or a bright red clam-shell opening pouch. The pouch would let me better organise the stuff but the ziplock bag would be smaller, cheaper and see-through.
So, any suggestions? Stuff to add/take away etc? Remember, I'm only a step above a complete novice so probably not a good idea for me to have a tourniquet or anything.
Why 3 different antihistamines? If you have alcohol spray, you don't need antiseptic wipes. Take some kind of iodine solution or cream and alcohol, that covers all your antibacterial needs.
Maybe include a plastic mouth cover for resuscitation if you're bothering with this. I don't think you need more than one single dose of NSAID, paracetamol is fine since it's antipyretic. Carry a small bag of sugar for diabetics.
I find that different antihistamines work better for different people. Personally I prefer telfast but most people I know use Zyrtec instead. Phenergan also treats nausea. Ibuprofen helps with inflammation which is why I added it.
I'll add a satchet of sugar to the list, maybe nick one next time I'm by a restaurant.
I still think the alcohol spray would be useful in some cases (sanitising tools etc) but maybe I can leave the neosporin out.
Hmm, a compression bandage seems to be more effective for some of the cases I was thinking. I'll look into those. I've seen space blankets come packed pretty small and tight so I figured it might be good to keep one just in case, but it'd yeah it'd probably just be dead weight.
diabetic here. A sachet of sugar will do nothing for a hypoglycemia event. You want at least 15g of carbohydrates, preferably 30. Also regular sugar is rather slow.
Get 3 to 6 rolls of smarties.
There are a few redundant things on here. Do you need antibacterial cream, alcohol, and antiseptic wipes? the wipes are probably the best because they can also clean the area. Alcohol's only good for cleaning tools, since it dehydrates the skin and can worsen scarring.
You're generally not supposed to take more than 1 oral antihistamine at a time. Pills don't take much space so if you use them for different things that's fine, just make sure not to mix them
All of those bandages are going to be your biggest obstacle to keeping it compact, depending on the size of your bag. I just carry tape and dressings in colder months, and swap the tape for compression bandages when it gets warm enough for snakes
You'll probably never need a space blanket or trauma shears unless it's bad enough that you should just call an ambulance anyway, unless you live somewhere with shit healthcare. Smaller scissor are nice though for trimming tape and dressings, or for removing loose skin.
I'd recommend some tweezers, a sharp pair is probably the most used item from my kit for the ungodly amount of splinters I get.
Hand sanitizer for when the job's too small for gloves
i know this is /diy, but you can buy a ready-made kit to just keep in your trunk or in a backpack or something for far less than what it would cost to make your own.
plus the amount of materials you have to buy of each item means you're really making about 20 first aid kits.
A lot of the kits I find (at least in physical stores) are kind of shit, where you're paying more for the little red pouch it comes in than any of the actual goods inside. If you know any good ones online I'd be happy to take a look.
Add at least one tourniquet (CAT Gen VII)
You'll probably never need it but they're cheap and will save a life if applied properly.
I'm not trained to use a tourniquet, so I'd probably do more harm than good with one. That's why I put the Israeli bandage in there instead.
i got one of these in each of my cars. seems to cover all the basics.
https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Waterproof-Compact-Medical-Emergencies/dp/B096X2NK1B
That's actually pretty sick, might get one in the car. However I want one that can fit in my bag.
you can get smaller kits, sure, but you're getting less materials in it. same people have a littler one roughly 6x4x2. https://www.amazon.com/First-Pieces-Water-Resistant-Shell-Small/dp/B0974SGHVP
there's less in it, of course, but you can always add a few each of your specific items to it.
that thing there is less than 20 bucks.
Hmm, that has a lot of the stuff I need anyway, also I've heard those triangular bandages are super useful. Might pull the trigger on that one and put some of my own stuff in it.
Good thing it has a compass.
Get it above the bleed take out the slack and turn the windlass till you can't feel a pulse in the extremity.
If you need a tq an Israeli bandage will not work as a substitute.
I still feel nervous about having to use one, so I'll see if there's any training in my area for it. My brother's a paramedic so maybe he can walk me through it.
It's worth knowing yeah. You can always buy an extra one to practice on yourself (hurts like a motherfricker)
>1x alcohol spray (pen sized bottle)
Add iodine, distilled water and a wound flushing bottle (good for eyewash too)
>Hydralite
Get pedialyte because it's better at hydrating you and ready to go in a bottle.
>3x each of varying bandaid sizes (small, medium, large
Bandaids are fricking stupid. They were made as a placebo soother for hysterical children. They are useless and you're going to want to beat the person who invented them the second you have an actual wound worth patching.
You want GAUZE. Lots of fricking Gauze. I mean as much as you can fit. Various sizes because you're not supposed to cut them. Trauma pads are nice too. That and pic related. Steri-strips are basically temporary stitches and will adhere even if the wound site is all bloody. Hardly anyone knows about them which is sad because they're probably the best thing you're gonna want to use if you get a laceration and can even substitute stitches if the wound isn't deep.
>1x roll of cohesive bandage
Get more. Those are really useful, especially if you can only use one arm.
>1x space blanket
Another moronic placebo invention. You're going to freeze to death, but for a tarp/reflector it's an okay idea. Get a wool blanket.
>1x keyring flashlight
Olight makes some great keychain lights, but get something that will stand up (roleplay you having to use this kit while injured).
>1x notepad+pen
If you're recording then get a timer too. Time is very important info for medical.
Get a triangular bandage too, you can use it as a sling.
This too. These can save your life.
All ready made kits are overpriced shit. Every one. They fill most of them with stupid alcohol pads, lubricant and bandaids. Get all medical supplies cheaper individually at Walmart and assemble your own for less than half the cost. The biggest cost is the box you'll put it in. I put mine in an old military medical can because it's got a nice seal to it.
Forgot to mention, when you buy gauze, get compressed gauze for space saving in your kit. It's also cheaper and because it's vacuum sealed it will be sterile whenever you use it next. When you build a first aid kit, realize that that's all it is. A "first aid". Put in the things that you would actually use that would increase your survivability in a situation where you are injured until you can get proper help (if possible). I wouldn't worry about the little things like electrolytes, and survival kit items. That stuff is for the leftover space in you bugout bag.
Also get a box that is easy to open and organize it as best as you can so that everything is visible when you open it. Would really suck if you get injured to the degree that you can't even operate your own first aid container because it has zippers instead of a latch (and you will be operating it injured if no one else can).
The hydralites were actually more for if I/someone else drinks too much on a night out than survival kit use, though I do have some fairly active hobbies that require them to avoid cramping on really hot days.
>All ready made kits are overpriced shit. Every one.
>instead buy all individual items in massive quantities from quality retailers such as walmart and make one yourself
Yeah frick it, why not get by with two rusty knives, a couple dirty qtips, some electrical tape, and a handful of off-brand wet wipes.
You'll die of infection or blood loss, but everyone will know what a real man's first aid looks like and stand over your bloating, putrid corpse marveling at how much money you saved by not buying an "overpriced kit". Right?
Anybody that listens to anything this certifiable moron says deserves to get gangrene and die.
>Bandaids are fricking stupid.
Jesus.
>You want GAUZE. Lots of fricking Gauze.
Yeah. Let me take this little cut that I don't want to get infected in the woods and pick through it with my rusty walmart box opener then get out my walmart brand roll of GAUZE (which has to be shouted for some reason) snip off a properly sized piece and then wrap my arm with my half a roll of walmart brand electrical tape.
Pure genius.
>GAUZE etc.
I laughed.
I second tweezers. I'd swap in a golf pencil for a pen.
>Yeah frick it, why not get by with two rusty knives, a couple dirty qtips, some electrical tape, and a handful of off-brand wet wipes.
I meant buy all the exact same shit that's in those various medical kits and combine them into one actually useful one, that's also less than half the cost. You sound like a book learned moron who never even studied medicine because you expurgate, but can't offer an alternative or actually correct me where I'm wrong.
>You'll die of infection or blood loss,
Not if you have gauze and steristrips lol. Little fricking knuckle bandages though? Give me a break
>but everyone will know what a real man's first aid looks like and stand over your bloating, putrid corpse marveling at how much money you saved by not buying an "overpriced kit". Right?
Show me one of these single mother starter packs that has steri-strips or iodine. You won't.
>Anybody that listens to anything this certifiable moron says deserves to get gangrene and die.
I just taught you how to make a professional trauma kit and you're b***hing that it's not a shitty over the counter CVShit kit.
>Jesus.
They are fricking moronic. It's just the same thing as gauze and a piece of tape, only fricking useless for stoping bleeding from actual life threatening wounds.
>Yeah. Let me take this little cut that I don't want to get infected in the woods and pick through it with my rusty walmart box opener then get out my walmart brand roll of GAUZE
The second you start sweating in whatever gay fairy forest you prance in, your little cultural colored sticker is going to be useless. Not that it's doing any better than your own clot rate that is.
>GAUZE (which has to be shouted for some reason)
Because it's important.
>snip off a properly sized piece
Lol, the reading comprehension of this guy. I told you specifically not to do that. Can you even tell me why it's bad to cut gauze without googling it?
Tweezers are good too.
The first aid kit I keep in my car cost $8. I would be very surprised if you could walk out of walmart with more than 3 items for that much.
>The first aid kit I keep in my car cost $8.
Again, because it's "babby's first OSHA bare minimum". They work great for boo boo's and ouchies and hemophilia lawsuit mitigation. Good for a starting point if it's got tools and whatnot, but I would ditch the fancy creams and some of the non fabric type bandaids for some of the things I listed.
I'm sorry if I come off as being adamant over it, but this exact shit happened to me in a home depot 8 years ago which is what prompted me to make my own and have it in my truck. Shenanigans in the plumbing section caused a copper pipe section to get me in my elbow pit and took a chunk out of me, was bleeding all over the place. I went over to the counter and asked them for their first aid kit, which was a fiasco in itself because initially no one knew where it was. Eventually they take it out and just give it to me, all that's in it are fricking bandaids, alcohol swaps and other aforementioned bullshit. Luckily it had some gauze pads, I used all 4-5 that were in there and just held it. They eventually bled through so I stopped by my house where I had some before heading to ER.
All these kits come with alcohol swabs too, but no fricking iodine or disinfectant beyond that which is stupid. The last thing you want to put on any open wound is alcohol because it destroys tissue cells and prevents healing. All it's there for is to maybe disinfect around the wound and help prevent the inevitable falling off of bandaids.
>Don't play doctor if you're not a doctor.
Especially when you can have paying customers to kill with your kindness.
A good part of the reason I even want to make a first aid kit in the first place is because I fricked up my knees pretty hard in a scooter accident a few months back, and had absolutely nothing but water and sudocrem to keep the wounds clean and covered until I could get myself to a doctor. Especially since the wounds were in high movement areas so even the biggest bandages at the chemist store wouldn't stay on for more than like an hour.
Bandaids aren't stupid, nor were they made as a placebo for children like your ignorant redneck mother trying to impress the big dick linemen who are in town for the weekend told you in the walmart checkout line when you asked for one for your scrape after you fell out of the cart.
you're a moron if you don't see the value in a general purpose, cheap, sterile dressing for small wounds.
you are so fricking Black person brained moronic you should never post any advice on anything about life, actually
>Bandaids aren't stupid,
They're very good at calming down small children and increasing the infection rate due to moisture trapping. They literally work worse than your own scabs.
>nor were they made as a placebo for children
They were made by Johnson and Johnson rofl. A company with a track record of producing placebos for children and treating cosmetic products as medical ones. If you want me to be more specific, they're for babies and toddlers.
>nor were they made as a placebo for children like your ignorant redneck mother trying to impress the big dick linemen who are in town for the weekend told you in the walmart checkout line when you asked for one for your scrape after you fell out of the cart.
You're just mad because I used the brand name "Walmart" aren't you? Would you be more satisfied paying double at CVS or target or wherever else you women shop?
>you're a moron if you don't see the value in a general purpose, cheap, sterile dressing for small wounds.
There is no "value" because those cost more than gauze and tape since they have to print funny little cartoons for crying children to be appeased. Even when drawing your blood they don't patch you using a fricking bandaid.
>you are so fricking Black person brained moronic you should never post any advice on anything about life,
I'm not the one telling people they should use cotton backed postage stamps as a substitute for medical supplies that actually function and save lives. Bandaids don't save lives, they prevent antibiotics and white blood cells from saving lives.
very informative post, actually. thanks random anon
Did your grandad invent the plastic adhesive bandage? Why get so flustered over something about which you clearly have no knowledge?
put all this in a fanny pack or something don't waste money on a bag of chinky shit that is missing important things and has junk you don't need
>paper towels, have lots of paper towel
>electrical tape maybe 2 or 3 rolls
>utility knife
>vinegar or alcohol if it will be too cold for vinegar
>Vietnam era blood clotting powder
>finger nail cutter
>eye drops
>sunscreen
>2 or 3 cotton swab
>small book of cheap paper matches
Nam surplus blood clotting powder burns like hell
>Vietnam surplus emergency medical supplies
Reminds me of those old SEEK and SERE kits Steve1989 reviewed a while back lol
>when you hope the rest of your platoon has not been ditching their vacuum packed single use trauma kit and you are not stick with the one that's always got the shakes from coming down off an alcohol/marijuana combination
take more courses in first aid especially FAST.
Now I believe you're a medical expert.
Don't play doctor if you're not a doctor.
You might understand what a mediation does to you, but not what it will do to someone else- they may not know either.
The argument that you're better than no doctor at all ignores the fact you might do more harm then good
Add single use sutures. They are easy to use and compact.
The only thing you should keep is a trauma kit. Something to stop bleeding long enough to get professional care.
Scouting 'Explo' (15 to 18 yo) here
I always put condoms in as well, just in case, and everyone knows they're there. Id rather they have safe sex than unprotected sex, as they're gonna do it anyway
I can't help but find it incredibly amusing that even this IMO polite and banal ask for medical advice caused a massive spergy argument lol.
>bandaids
I usually ignore nicks on my arms and legs, but I think they're worth having if only to reinforce the skin on a blister and keep it from getting worse.
I suppose there are other things that can do this too, but bandaids are pretty convenient for it.
I mostly use them if I get cut on my fingers, hands or feet. Pain aside, it aint sanitary to lift weights with cuts on your fingers.
>ouchie boo-boo kits
I carry a small bottle of CA glue with me for cuts and scrapes. Stops the skin from tearing with movement, makes a huge difference. Less discomfort = less procrastination. I also have some adhesive postage stamps which I never used.
Most common first aid is probably reminding old people to take their medications, and talking gently to people who are having anxiety attacks, hypertensive crises or diabeetes. If people feel valued, they will take care of themselves before it gets to the point where they pass out and saw off their arm.